Monday, July 04, 2011

I don't have a sweet tooth, but that doesn't mean I don't like sweet things. I mainly mean I don't want bear claws for breakfast or pie for dessert. No thanks to the refined sugar, the flour and the fat.Fruit gives me all the satisfaction I want.Here comes Mrs. McNaggity: Please develop an interest in fruit. It does not need to be baked in a clafoutis. It does not need to be whirled in a blender as a sweetened smoothie.Fruit is so good, it IS dessert. Well, you have to make sure the fruit you get is good. A peach with the mushy texture of rice and the flavor of Elmer's glue is a disaster, and you will blame it on "fruitness." You will avoid fruit. It is not the peach's fault; it is the peach farmer's fault, or more likely, the supermarket's fault. Try again. Find great suppliers, like at the farmers market.We grow five kinds of fruit at my house, and we long ago gave up on trying to put them in baked goods just to use them up. Just eat them!So this is my stealth entry into the pie maelstrom that's buzzing in the blogosphere this week. I don't want a wedge of pie, but a wedge of cheese is fine. With fruit.(It's a toma, from Point Reyes, one of the myriad of new cheeses they recently introduced. A little tangy, a little stinky, softish... it was great.)Happy red, white and blue!

21 comments:

Who needs sugar when the fruit is fresh and delicious? Yet, I refuse to pass up real strawberry shortcake, sugar or not. Molly over at Orangette has a post for the cake part which reads like the one my grandmother used to make - a slightly sweetened, flaky biscuit dough. When I make it, I top it with strawberries that have been macerated with balsamic vinegar and black pepper and then, add a drop of Marscapone. Maybe it's not to your taste but that just means that there's more for me!

Fruit season is killing me right now! You see, two weeks ago tomorrow I actually died for a little bit of a bleeding ulcer. Now I'm on a low fiber diet. I have to eat soft, peeled fruits ONLY. Of course this means no cherries, no berries, no grapes, no corn, no oatmeal and absolutely no popcorn. It sucks, but I'm still alive.

While I didn't get the new blue cheese, I did get some of the toma this weekend. Soooo good. And yeah, I like a little fruit with my cheese as well. Except I tend to think of it as lunch instead of a dessert. Well maybe with the addition of a nice salad.

Your combo of fresh fruit and cheese is one of my favorite breakfasts. Have you been using any of the Nicasio Valley cheeses? They're doing a super-soft one (think it's called Morning Fog) that is so delicious and fresh-tasting, especially good on a walnut levain.

Kudzu: Yes! We have been enjoying the puffy one and the others. We buy them whenever we see them.I am drifting in a dream of How Bountiful this place has become. Are we going to be punished for our hubris?

If you and your commentors would like to know more, you can order a (free) Sonoma Marin Cheese Trail map from MALT (www.malt.org). It takes more than a week to get to you but it's fabulous -- all foldy, not too big but large enough to peruse easily, photos, glossary, guides, where to buy the cheeses, etc.

Kudzu: Awesome! Thanks so much for this fun, valuable information. It pays to be wired to the media, yes?

ZZ: I never was addicted, so I imagine it's a hard transition. Listen, I cheat with ice cream and gummy bears now and then. Give yourself some cheat room, but just a little. Good luck!

Bewitch: You already heard about this cheese? I'm impressed. I don't know how national it's going, but they do have theirmoriginal blue everywhere.Funny about your desserts and company. I'm the same way.

Zoomie: See, that's another thIng. I will happily enjoy a few squares of dark chocolate. It's just a general avoidance of sugar in my own cooking. I happily squirt honey into my tea.

I adore fresh fruit, but pie is nice too, when it's good. You don't eat pie? Ever? I haven't had any in a long while, but have good memories of the apple & pear pie we used to make -- home grown fruit and whole wheat olive oil crust. Hubba hubba.

Who She?

I live a couple of miles from the Marin County Civic Center Farmers' Market, which feeds my little blogging hobby. Hell, it feeds me, too.
Formerly employed, I'm now a bum. Happy bum. Tomato ranchin' bum.
But I'm still mad.